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Post by leonardo on Jan 20, 2005 19:41:19 GMT
Having recently just completed a fairly extensive search for Masonic Radio stations I was extremely saddened to discover that a well-intentioned Masonic Forum - Online Masonic Discussion Board - now ceases to exist. This got me to wondering: are there just too many Masonic Fora on the Internet and the moment? mason188.com/ipw-web/bulletin/bb/index.phpI would be interested to hear your views. Edited to show the full URL.
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staffs
Administrator
Staffs
Posts: 3,295
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Post by staffs on Jan 20, 2005 19:53:09 GMT
Leo,did you find a masonic radio station on the net ? What is the Forum that has ceased to exist ? Are there too many ?? It depends what floats your boat. This forum is quite different from TFM and has many members who are interested in the esoterical side whereby TFM did not promote that or allow that side. It is the people who make the forum what it sis in my opinion and i believe this forum is fortunate to have a good solid standing of members who enjoy each others company and who would also get on well if they were to meet up which some of us have indeed done. Peace and Harmony here exists due to the quality of member here and a forum will go stale from time to time and have its peaks and troughs. This forum is still in its infancy but still manages an average of around 60 posts per day. Others may have a steady trickle of posts but will continue to survive and some people will prefer one forum to the other for their own reasons, As to being too many then no i dont think there is due to the above reasons. How many masonic forums are there do you think and how well do they fare with posts. Also it is not just the number of posts but the quality and i think that area is not lacking here. We have quality posts from quality people. Maybe in time this forum will fade away which i hope does not happen but like life evolving we evolve and change our habits too
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Post by leonardo on Jan 20, 2005 20:28:06 GMT
Lee, the link is in my post. But here it is again: mason188.com/ipw-web/bulletin/bb/index.phpI agree completely with all your points. My original post on this was merely to highlight that unfortunately some Fora do fall to one side. As I said already I was extremely saddened when I came across the site mentioned above, to see that it was started with genuinely good intentions, and then ceased to be, was practically heartbreaking. The good news is I do not envisage a similar outcome happening to this forum. In my humble opinion I believe that this particular forum is the most welcoming and friendliest such place on the Internet, this, for me at least, is one of its greatest strengths - along with the fact it has the greatest contributors.
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Post by offramp on Feb 2, 2005 0:49:13 GMT
I have been regularly calling in to a fairly new forum set up by that bloke who got booted off TFM.forum. I like the colour scheme there; you should think of copying it here Staffs.
The forum itself isn't much good though. Any comments critical of the new organisation (pop. 1) are deleted and the posters banned. He does not like any discussion!
It's a pity because there were some very funny posts there. You can still read the forum-owner's own comments, of course.
He posts under many different names but they are easy to recognize because they all make identical spelling mistakes.
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Post by Trinityman on Feb 2, 2005 7:26:54 GMT
Yes, the forum in question makes for good reading. The best bit though is reading the posts and trying to work out who all the different posters are . Thanks offramp for your signature on this site which helps to answer that. There is another new UK forum recently started up as well, but as to too many? I don't think so. Masonic Chat (Julian Smiths site) appears to be an abeyance so i guess it's a market-led thing - survival of the fittest and all that. What I find tedious though is seeing the same question appearing on several different masonic forums, as if the poster imagines we all just stick to one only!!! At least give one forum the chance to answer before giving up and moving on to the next one . Next thing will be posters offering prizes to the forum that provides the best answer ;D ;D ;D
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Post by taylorsman on Feb 2, 2005 9:15:37 GMT
I don't think one can have too many Masonic Fora.
This one was set up in response to a particular problem and need and seems to be working. Moderation here is quite light compared to others, but there are some which are REALLY draconian. Some time back I applied to join one British Masonic Forum, the questions asked were far more searching than when I applied to join The Craft itself! When they e-mailed me back to confirm that I was deemed suitable by them the Conditions and Rules were far too strict for my liking so I declined to join it, have never posted there and have never visited it since.
It's horses for courses. I do not like toeing Party Lines, I'm a very individualistic person not a team player, the concept of "Collective Responsibility" as in the Cabinet is lost on me. So a very strict Forum would not be my scene. On the other hand I don't want to post to a "Bear Garden" where personal insults, foul language, verbal threats and bullying exist. Hence the need for Moderators.
The Rules here are laid out for all to read, there is no procrustean obsession with "relevance", if a posting strays too far it is simply moved to a more appropriate or new thread. Subject to the usual rules regarding Libel, Obscenity, Abusive or Threatening Language, etc anything goes.
Well, thanks to Staffs this one seems to be working and quite a few posters old and new appear here. For those who DON'T like the way it is run, go elsewhere, as has been said there are plenty of Masonic Websites and Fora out there one of which may be more to your taste.
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bod
Member
UGLE - MM (London), MMM RAM(Middx), OSM (London)
Posts: 1,296
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Post by bod on Feb 2, 2005 12:11:46 GMT
I'm with TM on this one - fora will come and go and it is possible to get different opinions from the various places. I visit most of the masonic forums, more active on some than others, but enjoy the variety - and always learn something. Even if it's only not to go back there....
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